I decided to join Barclays rather than Goldman Sachs when my prospective manager told me "at Barclays, we don't do face-time". And for the past 6 years, this has been true. People are very respectful of family time and I never receive any e-mails from my management on weekends, even though I am a gighly compensated director. Everyone - and mostly men in fact- are encouraged to care for their children, including during unplanned sickness. And there is a great culture of collaboration and cross-training. I feel everyone makes sure to be patient and not expect immediate response, such that I know someone won't "take my seat" because I am at a school event / gym / doctor's apointment. Last, there are very few internal meetings, and we always to end on time; often time sooner.

Lots of programs in place for gender equality especially at the junior levels. External targets for % of women in senior level positions. In Americas where I work, WIN network does a lot to bring together senior women in the organization but no P&L-driven senior women in ExCo (all infra). Sends tough message for ambitious front-office senior women.